Cannibalism in Pop Music: an Appreciation
For some reason, there are precious few pop songs about cannibalism. Perhaps it’s because “Timothy,” a 1971 hit by The Buoys, set such a high bar.
“Timothy” describes a mine disaster in which three people, including Timothy, Joe, and the narrator, are trapped for an undisclosed amount of time and start to look at one another less as colleagues, and more as protein.
“Hungry as hell, no food to eat, and Joe said he would sell his soul for just a piece of meat.” Memorable lyrics indeed, and yet I cannot get the first few words out before my wife gives me a look that gets me to stop singing immediately. You may be surprised to learn that not everyone appreciates the song.
Written by Rupert Holmes, who also wrote “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” a cannibalism-free #1 hit in 1979, it is a tour de force of dissembling. The narrator claims he’s unsure of what happened in the mine cave-in, but we the listeners are not. Three miners were trapped, two came out, and “nobody ever got around to finding Timothy.” Like drummer Stumpy Pete’s gardening death in This Is Spinal Tap, the authorities must have decided “it’s best left unsolved.”
The narrator’s plaintive refrain, “Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go?” can only be answered by the listener, “Into your gullet.”
He tells us that he “must have blacked out” just before he woke up and noticed that Timothy was missing. Well, that’s convenient. Kinda like Vicki Lawrence in “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” not having the time to confess to the murder of her brother’s wife before her brother was convicted and hung for it. Did she have book club that night or something?
Anyway, he also tells us that when he woke up, his “stomach was as full as it could be,” and I don’t think it was from the sudden discovery of a mini-fridge full of yogurts and hummus the mine had provided for employees. No, his tummy was full of something even worse, if you get my drift. Hint: It starts with a capital T.
Fast forward to 1989. An English band with a promising name brings hope to those of us looking for a “Timothy” remake. “Fine Young Cannibals” releases its album, “The Raw and the Cooked.” No “Timothy.” Instead there’s a number one hit, “She Drives Me Crazy.” Hopes dashed.
No doubt some day, some enterprising band will bring it back.
After all, there will always be an appetite for songs that stretch the boundaries of good taste.
